I made do when my Mother’s suffocating Love nearly took my breath away
I made do when I was 40 days old fighting for my life in an oxygen tank
I made do every weekend when my Father’s gambling addiction took him off to the races
& Welte’s smoke filled Lo Ball Card Rooms in South San Francisco

I made do when I survived my Mother’s family’s incest, the secrets, & violations, too taboo to talk about
I made do when my love & expression of ART was organized, parochialized, categorized, rolled up in a green oil cloth
I made do when I was taken off stage & had to give my wooden shoes to a cuter, petite, 2nd grade classmate who lived in a bigger prettier house, smiled wider, braids thicker

I made do when I was fat, wore glasses & knew all the answers
I made do when I joined a competitive synchronized swim team & my best was not blue ribbon best
I made do when I fell in the lower half of the bell curve in a private girls’ school where they all played smarter than me

I made do when I D’ed out of Chemistry & French & took Spanish instead
I made do when my typing 90+ wpm’s financed my fours years of college
I made do each and every time He dumped me for her ~ & I kept pushing that door I thought I had to open ~ even though it always remained shut!